Fate
by unexpectedhero
Summary: A young girl becomes what she always dreamed of, a superhero. Yet, she doesn't have the mental or emotional strength to give her life up for a common citizen. Will fate allow her survive being a superhero or will she find herself at a dead end?
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer**: I do own Matilda Nowak and Alexander Malcolm, and that is it. I do no own any of the superheroes or supporting characters from either _Marvel_ or _DC_ comics.

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She was fully aware of the video cameras surveying her as she made her way through her living room. Two or three cameras were assorted under her undergarments or t-shirts she usually aimlessly tossed to the side. Each had a different angel, one view from the top of the television to center at the cream couch; another had view of the patio of her apartment; the last was peering directly into the open kitchen. She knew only of this because her best-friend was looking for stardom through her. Ever since he had that "dream" of her...pleasuring herself...he wanted her in a pornographic movie. Thus, he hid cameras all over her apartment in hopes to find something amazing to give to the top of the top. To the guy who owned the play bunny mansion--neither one knew his name nor cared too. She wanted her dream to come true, he wanted fame.

Matilda glided across the floor to the large covered glass sliding door; she pulled back the maroon curtains to view Manhattan from high above. Her apartment was cheap, dirt cheap, and made out of steal. The rent was easy pay and most of the furniture was included, which consisted of her cream couch, refrigerator, oven, washing machine and a dryer, microwave, a dining table meant for one, a small dresser, a small television, and a bed. Each item was older than she was, rotten and continued to rot, but she enjoyed the disgusting home. It wasn't about how much furniture it held or the layout/design, it was about the gorgeous view of her lovely city. Matilda loved her city, she adored it, and she was inspired by everything about it. The beauty of its sorrow, the beauty of its attention, the beauty of its excitement; New York City was practically its own person. It had an appearance, it had personality, and it had brains. If New York was a human [being it a woman or a man], she would marry it.

Matilda stood in her merchandised Spider-Man underwear and her black bra, hands planted on her hips, curly brown locks pulled up into a messy bun, and bright smile spreading across her lips. It was a Saturday afternoon in mid-June and Matilda felt refreshed as ever. She threw her arms up in the air for a good, long stretch as her eyes remained on the glorious city of New York. Her fingers linked together, pushed her palms towards the heavens and released a yawn. Eleven in the morning was far too early for her to wake up, but it enabled her to see the city before the smog and cloud cover could make its way over her view. Matilda stood there for another couple of moments, eyes gazing at the tops of the buildings and occasionally glancing into the sky. "Few more moments," she whispered to herself. Her fingers released the hands and she clutched them into tiny fists. She became excited, closing her distance to the glass door and literally pressed her face against the glass. "Come on, come on," she whimpered.

Just after she whimpered, the figure in red and blue came popping up from behind her patio and stretched in mid-air. Spider-Man ejected a web string from his wrist and had it glued to the top of her building. She squealed in excitement, watching Spider-Man swing his way on to her building. Matilda trotted around in a circle, shaking her hands above her head. She was proud to have one of the tallest buildings in New York. Oh, how she wanted to run to the roof and meet face to face to her hero, her savior; however, he was surely busy and had no time to visit with fans. Thus, she leaned her body against the glass door, sighing heavenly. "Oh Spider-Man," she whispered his name, feeling a lovely shudder through her body as his name left her lips.

"Knock-knock," the words of the action appeared before the knock had. Matilda pushed off the glass door and quickly made her way to the steal front door. She opened it to find her best-friend standing there with a camera in hand. "Perfect," he spoke just before snapping a photo of Matilda half-naked. "You're getting really good at this, y'know?" He pushed past her and the door frame and into the living room. "Did we catch anything interesting on the video cameras?" Somehow he caught on to Matilda's knowledge of the "hidden" cameras.

"If you count watching_ X-Files_ and daydreaming of Spider-Man as interesting, then yes, Xander." Matilda rolled her eyes, shutting the door before making her way over to where he crouched to meet the television set. "Would you quit it with quote-sneaking-unquote around with your stupid little cameras?" Matilda noticed the cameras the first day her friend, Xander, placed them within her apartment. Sadly, she was quite drunk that night and wasn't able to toss his precious cameras out the window.

"Nothing at all?" Xander pouted, as he stood up from the television set. "At least you didn't wreck my cameras like last time." They both do remember Matilda snatching Xander's camera from around his neck and tossing it into the ocean. Xander cried all night over that camera, the pictures he took of the Victoria Secrets lingerie models were completely destroyed. Those models only come around once a year and actually make eye-contact with a simpleton every five years.

Matilda rolled her eyes once again, remembering clearly of him crying into her shoulder all night long. She picked up an aimlessly dropped flannel shirt owned by her ex-boyfriend and threw it on, buttoning just up to where he cleavage line starts. "What are we doing today?" she asked as she trotted out of the living room and into the hallway. She made her way into her bedroom and Xander followed her like a lost puppy.

"We can always hang out at my harbor again, or we can just walk around the city, your pick." Xander was searching through his pictures on his digital camera. "It's up to you, Ms. Matilda Nowak; you'll be a star soon, y'know?" He quickly closed the image browser to take a picture of Matilda pulling on her jean shorts.

"I said I'm not going into that business, my parents will be very disappointed. Including every superhero, Captain America will be rolling in his grave." Matilda was a fan--no a huge fan of her worldly superheroes. She adored them as she adored her city, they were her idols. They did the right thing every second of their life and Matilda could only wish that she would be able to follow in their footsteps. Matilda had no special powers of any kind, but she was a good hearted...that counted as something, _right_?

"Then let Captain America roll in his grave! I sent your pictures and videos to the big man on campus," Xander cheered, nearly laughing. However, his "money" dance was cut short by being hit with Matilda's high heel. "OW!" he yelped as the shoe collided with his arm. "What was that for?" he asked, rubbing the abraded area.

"What else?" Matilda sneered. "I asked you not to do it, yet you went ahead and did it." She dropped her head; her best-friend was hopeless. "I don't want to be a porn star. _You_ want me to be a porn star."

Xander made his way closer to his friend, carefully stepping through her cluttered room as if it was a mine-field. "Don't worry, your good name won't be tarnished," Xander cooed, rubbing her back as his eyes wandered across the floor to see her lingerie. "Maybe even some superheroes will buy the issue and just stare at you." He knew what Matilda liked and adored, he knew where she was weak. "You'll be the Queen of New York! Everyone would love you, look up to you."

Her eyes landed on Xander, clearly in disbelief. "Shut up," Matilda demanded as she popped his forehead with her palm. "Come on, let's go to your harbor." Xander owned his own harbor; he took care of other people's boats and ships for them as he managed imports and exports from all over the world. Not too mention the harbor was located near Hell's Kitchen, and this was the area where all those mafia crimes happened. Matilda was interested in that, allowing her to get information secretively and pass it on to Spider-Man occasionally, or whoever was to pass by it. During the summer was the best, the heat was horrible and cooling down in the ocean was probably the best way to spend it. The two young adults exited the steal apartment and left the cameras to continue rolling away.

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**Author's Notes**: Yes, this is under _DC Superheroes_, and that's all because of the ending. There will be _Marvel_ superheroes arriving into the story, several to be exact, but the story line is basically a love for a _DC_ superhero. I'm not going to tell of which one because that'll be a spoiler, and no one wants a spoiler. Please read and review, thank you.


	2. Birth of a Goddess

Matilda's feet were settled under cool ocean waters; the ever so often wave manipulated her feet to sway back and forth. She watched the ships out in the harbor float on the surface and observed the seagulls taking advantage of the winds to fly. She smiled gently to the serene scene before her; the ocean wasn't beautiful as New York, but it was a good break from the hectic life of the city. Matilda rested on the dock as Xander was filing clearance orders from all around the world. When it was needed, Xander could work really hard and for once he wasn't annoying and a big goofball. However, it never really lasted long with Xander. "DONE!" he announced out loud, returning the files to the man who held the clearance orders and kept them filed. Matilda looked over her shoulder to see Xander hop off the up right wooden barrel and made his way towards Matilda. "How's your day going?" he asked to bring up some kind of conversation between them.

"Haven't you been paying attention?" Matilda asked, completely forgetting that Xander was half-working and half-goofing off. She shrugged her shoulders, "I've been good," she answered to make up the stupid question she asked. "This must be a hard job, huh?" Matilda bought up, taking notice that Xander was running around most of the time since they've arrived to the harbor. He simply nodded his head, eyes watching the sailing boats before him. "Do you have to check what's loaded on the boats?" Matilda pondered, leaning towards him. It was obvious that was she was looking for more information to hand over to Spider-Man.

"Well, _duh_," he mocked Matilda's tone while he nudged her gently in the ribs. "I have to do a complete search before allowing any imports in our city."

"Or else," Matilda added with a smirk. Xander didn't have to assume, he knew that she was thinking of Spider-Man crashing the bad guy's party. Xander was correct, Matilda was daydreaming. _Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four teamed up to go against a mafia gang that had enough chemical waste to poison the World's oceans. Of course, Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four saved the day by putting in webs and "clobbering" them to a goodnight's rest._ "You know who might crash the party." Xander rolled his eyes, couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"You seriously need to start your own fan club," Xander teased her. Abruptly, a loud horn blew, causing the two young adults to jump. The sound caught their attention, forcing them to look out to the ocean waters to find a large, black shipping boat docking into Xander's port. "It's here," he stated as he stood up. He aided Matilda to her feet before rushing over to the ship. Matilda looked around quickly, almost nervously and followed Xander in a quick jog. "Wayne Enterprises has landed!" Xander shouted to the rest of his co-workers, waving his hand over his head to get their attention.

"Wayne Enterprises? Like _Bruce Wayne_ of Gotham?" Matilda suddenly ran past Xander, "Is he on the boat?" she inquired as the two closed the distance to the docking bridge. Xander stood there waiting, hands in pockets, and keen/observant eyes watching the men unload the packaged goods. Matilda began to doubt that Bruce Wayne would be on the carrier ship, but much too her surprise, Bruce Wayne climbed off the shipping boat with his a young teenager tagging beside him and his famous butler behind the teen. "It's Bruce Wayne!" Matilda nudged Xander. "Don't embarrass me, okay?" she whispered into Xander's ear, hoping to make some kind of impression on him. Without thinking, she moved forward to greet him as if she was the mayor of Manhattan.

Just as she came close enough to Bruce Wayne, Xander pushed her roughly into him. Matilda yelped as she free-fell towards the ground; she was so embarrassed, she didn't think of a react. Thankfully, Bruce Wayne caught her before she could hurt herself on the wooden docks. "Are you all right?" his tender, yet "manly" voice echoed into Matilda's ear. **The** Bruce Wayne was holding her in his arms.

She pulled herself off him quickly and straightened her posture. "Y-yeah, thank you." Her cheeks flushed and immediately, she introduced herself, "Matilda Nowak, it's a pleasure Mr. Wayne." Matilda shot her hand forward, and he shook it firmly. She squealed mentally, thanking God that she had the chance to meet **THE** Bruce Wayne. Her mind began to fanaticize the two marrying, having kids, and being the richest family in the world. Of course, Xander had to ruin her good thoughts by pushing her to the side.

"Alexander Malcolm, I'm the manager of these docks here. Let's talk business...imports, exports, that kind of stuff." Xander had pulled her future husband away from her, and by the smug smirk on his lips, he did it on purpose.

Matilda huffed a sigh, crossing her arms tightly over her chest. "Unfair," she whispered to herself. She was oblivious to the other two men standing behind her--failing to introduce herself to them--and left them to follow Xander. She knew she wasn't allowed to accompany the meeting, but she was able to sit outside of Xander's office. Matilda was sitting against the plaster wall, hugging her knees for comfort. The ocean view kept her mind at ease and free from boredom, just looking at the ocean gave her all sorts of images of Bruce and her splashing water on each other.

Matilda didn't keep track of the time, but she knew very well that her day was flying past her. The Sun was setting over the ocean's waters, the sky traversed from blue to an array of oranges, reds, pinks, and yellow colors. She didn't complain over this matter, merely allowed Xander to do his job and not making another fool of herself in front of Bruce Wayne. Her head leaned against the plaster wall; her blue orbs focused on to the first star that appeared in the night sky. The star twinkled brightly in the appearing night sky; it was the only light that was in the flooding darkness.

"Xander's going to pay..." Matilda muttered. This was the third time he left her to do his business--if he's really that busy, then he should never have invited her to his work. She perked out her lower lip in a soft pout. "Better buy me dinner." The mention of dinner forced her stomach to growl. She just remembered that there wasn't any food within her day, no breakfast, no lunch, no snacks, and it seemed to be as if there will be no dinner. Matilda was already skinny enough, she didn't want to waste her body.

"Thank you, Mr. Malcolm for everything. I trust in you to take care of the items on the ship," Bruce Wayne's voice came from the inside of Xander's office. The voice was muffled, but at least it was audible. Matilda leaned her ear against the wall and listened in their conversation--why didn't she think of this earlier? "I want my own port to make sure my ship is safe here in New York. This isn't my first visit, but I wouldn't want to make it my last." Bruce Wayne, along with Xander, exited from the office still in the middle of their conversation.

"No problem, Mr. Wayne. Let me show you the private ports that are available at this moment. You are entitled to choose which one you would like to dock your ship in." Xander allowed Bruce Wayne to continue on walking, oblivious to Xander stopping to chat with Matilda for a bit. "I know, I know; I'm really sorry about this. I totally forgot that Bruce Wayne was docking in today. I'll make it up to you, I promise. You head on home and I'll pick up pizza from our favorite place. Does that sound good?"

Matilda rolled her eyes. That's the one thing she disliked about Xander, he always forgot about the most important things. "All right, all right; you better make it large, get a liter of Dr. Pepper, and rent a British comedy." Xander nodded his head, agreeing with the offer. He opened his mouth to speak, but Bruce Wayne interrupted him by asking if he should wait for another day--this got Xander running after Bruce Wayne and apologizing. "Goodnight," Matilda whispered to Xander; she knew he wouldn't hear and probably will forget about this whole conversation. Xander was a dummy, but one heck of a friend. Matilda stood to her feet with the aid of the wall. Her legs screamed in pain, being seated in one position over a long period of time wasn't good. She stretched her legs a bit before using them for walking.

As she was turning to leave, the large Wayne Enterprises cargo ship caught her eye. She bit her lip, but her curiosity was urging her to investigate. "It wouldn't hurt..." she muttered. Matilda could always lie her way out of this one, right? "I heard a scream from inside of the cargo ship and went running towards it, thinking it was a worker in trouble." She took off running towards the cargo ship, pretending she heard some kind of shrill. Matilda slowed down as she made it up the docking bridge, she gently traveled her way up, not wanting to disturb anything or get caught. "I followed the sound inside of the cargo ship, making my way through the array of wooden boxes towards the back, calling out for whoever was in there." She followed her story, moving towards the back and getting a good look at everything she passed by; large items from Egypt, shining armor from Europe, and pottery from Asia. This was the whole world within Bruce Wayne's cargo ship. Matilda made her way to the back of the cargo ship, finding a door with a make-shift sign, 'keep out'. "I came across a sign that said keep out, but another scream echoed through the darkness...and it came from within the room." Matilda opened the door slowly, hoping no one was within the room. Thankfully, when she opened it fully, it was empty of life...yet something was glowing in the far corner. "More and more screams occurred from the corner, and I ran over there to see what the problem was." Matilda ran towards the corner where the green glow was accumulating. "Once I arrived...it was merely a cat meowing for attention..." what Matilda found was no cat. An artifact had fallen from its pedestal, a green glowing artifact that seemed from ancient Egypt...or out of this world. She didn't hesitate to pick it up; she knelt down closer to the object and scooped it up in her palm...and once she did, something strange occurred.

A bright green light flashed before her eyes and a sudden, unexpected pain flowed through her body. Matilda felt as if she was fire, burning from the inside out. She screamed, dropping the artifact and using her nails to scrap her skin. Her skin burned, her blood boiled, her eyes were blurred. She was in great deal of pain. Her mind was unconscious to her surroundings and she figured she was no longer in the cargo ship. Somewhere else, but where exactly? The pain surged through her body, forcing her to abandon her thoughts of her whereabouts. Matilda wanted the pain gone, the fire to end, and pleaded for this...something...to stop racing her heart. At last, the pain ended, but her worse fear crept around her slowly. The darkness engulfed her and she screamed for the light.

Bruce Wayne and Xander were half-way to the private docks when they heard the loud shrill. Looking over their shoulders to inspect the area behind them and found it barren; another scream echoed through their ears, paling their faces. "MATILDA!" Xander shouted, as he turned around, dashing towards the alarming scream. Bruce Wayne soon followed after him, curious to what was happening with that young girl and if he--or the Batman--could help in anyway. Xander heard a third scream and this scream allowed Xander to locate where exactly the screams had pronounced themselves. "Your cargo ship!" Xander pointed out to Bruce Wayne before darting up the docking bridge. Xander was fearful of his friend's whereabouts, afraid one of these mafia guys got a hold of her...and were...no! He wouldn't allow it to continue if it happened, he wouldn't forgive himself if he let this happen to her. Xander made his way into the dark cargo ship and momentary stopped; he looked around, eyes darting from every direction. "Matilda!! MATILDA!" he cried out for her. A fourth scream echoed through the ship just as Bruce Wayne entered in--the scream came from the back. Xander darted in the direction, pushing dusty cloths out of his way and leaping over boxes to make it to the destination faster.

"MATILDA!" Xander at last found the back door, which was glowing with a bright green light. "Matilda!" he darted into the room, caring not to listen to Bruce Wayne's hushed whisper from behind him. The light was fading was he drew closer; it felt as if the light was Matilda's life...and she was fading rapidly. Xander kicked down the door to find the room become pitch black. "Matilda!" Xander pushed himself into a jog towards the dark figure lying on the floor. He found her and she was still alive...but he wasn't sure if she would be for long. He dropped to his knees and scooped her limp body into his arms. "Matilda, speak to me, what happened." Only another groan escaped her lips. "Call an ambulance!" Xander shouted over his shoulder to Bruce Wayne, who was already doing it before he asked. "Come on, Matilda, don't leave me now."

Bruce Wayne came up from behind Xander, using his cell phone as a light. He shined it over Matilda's body and what they both saw forced them to gasp. Her veins were popping out and they were all glowing green. _'She couldn't have...'_ Bruce Wayne thought. He used his cell phone to scan the room and just as he predicted, the Krypton artifact was laying aimlessly on the floor next to her foot. _'She did...'_ he looked back to Matilda lying limp in Xander's arms.

"What happened?" Xander choked on a sob as he leaned his forehead against her's. In the distance was the sound of an ambulance, followed by police cars. Xander shivered, clinging on to Matilda's body and possibly to the last strands of her life.

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**Author's Notes**: I know a lot of you are confused, very confused to what is happening, but don't worry, it'll make sense. If you continue to read and give me reviews, it'll be explained perfectly. Please review, thank you!


	3. Relief

Matilda's body twitched under the pressure. Her lungs fought to keep breathing as her heart attempted to keep her blood running. There was an immense power changing underneath her flesh, trying ever so hard to connect with her body. This was the reason why her lungs, her heart, every vital organ in her were rushing to keep up with the awakening power. She cringed from the pain, jerking her head back. The power wasn't connecting, the power wasn't meant for humans, for the mortals. So why choose her? Was there even a choice? If this...power didn't react well with her form, will it kill her off? She screamed mentally, remembering all those documentaries that said parasites sometimes kill off the host if it can't use it as a home. It reminded her of that one _X-Files_ episode...neither_ Mulder_ nor _Scully_ were infected, but the crew was and when the alien parasite ejected from the host's throat, the spore would spread...infecting anyone who was near at the time. Tears were escaping her eyes, but it could very well be blood. She didn't know and she didn't WANT to know. Matilda was going to die and she knew it all too well.

Xander hopped on to the ambulance with the paramedics and the dying girl. He stood off to the side as the paramedics injected her with morphine, antibiotics, and something else Xander wasn't too sure what it was. They strapped her down to the stretcher to keep from jerking about and hurting herself and others; they put a belt between her teeth, preventing her from biting her tongue. Xander held back his sobs, trying to be strong for Matilda and for himself. Seeing her like this was absolutely horrible, it only brought back to the thought of what happened within that cargo ship. What was on Bruce Wayne's ship that made her become like this?! Xander didn't want to blame Bruce Wayne, didn't want to blame Matilda, but someone has to take the blame, right? Xander blamed himself.

Bruce Wayne ordered Alfred to drive him and Timothy Drake to the 1199 Hospital League, the nearest hospital to Hell's Kitchen. Timothy Drake was sitting restlessly next to Bruce Wayne, twiddling his thumbs on his lap. The commotion was all too much for him, and it was far too much for Robin. He glanced to Bruce several times, pondering if he should ask of what happened or keep quiet about it...With Bruce Wayne, no one could tell what was the right and wrong. At last, he just blurted it out, not caring and not fearing of the results. "What happened to that girl?" he hissed. The matter was untouched and each man in the limo feared for the worst.

Bruce Wayne calmly looked over to Timothy Drake, eyes speaking for themselves. "Calm down Tim, it'll be all right." Bruce Wayne had never said those words before...that only meant something horrible, something terrible has happened to that girl. But what? Timothy pushed forward, repeating his question in a harsher tone. "The Kryptonite artifact, she touched it." The artifact to the reason why they were here; no one knew what that artifact was or what it did, neither did Superman or Supergirl. They were confused, in disbelief that something from their home planet had survived. Thus, Bruce Wayne looked up everything he could about the artifact, but found no traces of it existing. This all concluded to a man who studied the universes above their heads and who knew almost everything of Kryptonite, just by watching from afar.

"What happened though?" Timothy Drake urged him to continue on. He knew that the artifact could be dangerous, but never this dangerous. There was a possibility that she could live, after what happened in Smallville, Kansas so long ago. Several people were infected by the meteor shower and they were all changed...having weird powers to be unheard of. Could this girl just be another infectie? He shook his head to himself, denying that fact. He heard reports of these incidents, but they were to the brink of death, Matilda was. "She's dying right?"

The two men had to realize that this wasn't a rock from the planet, this was a device created by them. It seemed as if it was a device meant for war, or self-defense. They cringe to the thought, fearing this would be their fault and that this death will be on their heads forever.

Right upon arrival to the hospital, they rushed Matilda to the ER. Xander was tagging right behind them, in hopes he would sneak through the "personnel only" doors, yet the nurses pushed him back, ordering him to wait. Xander couldn't wait, his best-friend was dying in front of him...and painfully. Matilda was like his younger sister, he cared for her when her parents got a divorce, when her brother left off for college, and when her mother was working day and night shifts just to keep food on the table. Xander was there to take her into his home, feed her, and tend to the injuries she had getting into fights with everyone. Xander kept her sane from the insane world. Letting her die like this was inhumane for him. He paced in front of the doors for a couple of minutes before a nurse pulled him away from the doors and moved him into the waiting area. Just like the rest of the waiting friends and family, he was anxious to see his loved one. They all were.

Bruce Wayne and Timothy Drake arrived to the hospital around the time Xander and the paramedics had. They figured she would be in the emergency room and moved themselves to the waiting room to look for the troubled Xander. They found him rocking himself back n' forth in the waiting chair and continuously running his hands through his dark hair. They walked up to him, attempting to comfort him, but merely stood there next to him. "Is she in the ER?" Bruce Wayne asked, unable to think of something comforting to say. Xander nodded his head, whimpering in a silent sob. Bruce Wayne closed his eyes, sighing heavily; this wasn't on his agenda, this came unexpectedly. "She'll be all right; it's not your fault." Bruce Wayne took the empty seat next to the sobbing Xander and rubbed the boy's back to comfort him.

Matilda heard the continuous beeps of the EKG next to her ear. The Sun blazed through her eyelids and warmed her chilled body. The scent of death and sterilization lingered in her nostrils. Using deductive reasoning of what happened last night and what was occurring now, she figured she was in the hospital. Her eyes fluttered open to see the pale ceiling above her, and slowly her senses were returning, and that's when all the nerves in her body suddenly began to scream. She shot up into a sitting position and clung to her body, groaning over the immense pain surging through her body. A second later, it disappeared. Matilda's body felt different, lighter and her heart rate was at a different beat. She listened to the EKG as she felt her heart pump through her body. It was strong, loud and it differ from her slow, weak beats that she had before the incident. _'What happened?'_ she pondered to herself. Being able to think again was an absolute pleasure; she never figured that thinking would be so necessary.

Her eyes scanned all around her, catching the sights of the objects surrounding her. A balloon, get-well cards, flowers in bunches. Someone really cared about her, that someone was Xander, no doubt. Matilda began to sight over her body, seeing her hand injected with the needle that kept the antibiotics flowing through her body. The pain of the needle wasn't there, but it sure did disgust her; using the light blue blanket, she covered her hand from the nasty sight.

Dropping her head, she wondered how she looked--surely, disgusting. She hasn't taken a shower, brushed her teeth or hair, and her clothes are probably dirty from the cargo ship. She grimaced, hoping a mirror wasn't by, she dreaded to see what she looked like. The thoughts of her image had disappeared when the door opened and a flood of doctors came in. Matilda used the blankets to cover the top portion of her body. The thoughts of her disgusting self returned and she was embarrassed. "Uhm," she could only let that muffled sound out for Xander came rushing in with his arms opened wide and his face bright as the Sun at high noon.

"MATILDA! YOU'RE AWAKE! ALIVE!!" Xander's body collided into hers and his arms wrapped tightly around her figure. "Damn girl, I thought I was going to lose you, you gave me quite a scare." Xander's cheek nuzzled against hers.

"Yeah, ditto...why are all these doctors in here," Matilda asked, pushing the glee formalities for later.

"You were bitten by some kind of snake; they aren't sure what kind though. They could only eject the poison from your body, which saved your life." Bruce Wayne entered into the room, roses in hand. "I'm sorry for having such pests on board. I didn't think any animals would be able to sneak on." He handed the flowers to Matilda, and immediately she hugged them gratefully.

"Thank you for your concern, Mr. Wayne, it's very thoughtful of you." Matilda sniffed the roses pleasantly. "Forgive and forget, right?" A smile briskly appeared on to her lips, but faded when she realized of her stronger body. "Excuse me doctors, is it possible that the poison could still be lingering inside my body? I feel different...my heart, it's different."

The doctors nodded and one only replied. "Yes, we noticed. We took the files of your last visit and compared it to now, and your heart rate is stronger...strong like an athletes'."

Matilda and Xander both knew that wasn't possibly. Matilda was headstrong, hardworking, intelligent, but she was damn lazy. The two friends gave a glance at each other, confused to the very fact.

"We also did another check whether the poison was still inside...and nothing has come up. It's odd, but I think if one could survive the poison then they are rewarded." The other doctors laughed at the theory, but Matilda believed in it. It was like an _X-Files_ case--mysterious, incredible, and daring. "If you'll excuse us, we have other patients to check on. Seeing how you're doing, we are freeing you from under our care today."

The suddenly release was unexpected but gladly accepted by the two young adults.


	4. God On Their Side

"Oh man, I never knew a shower could feel so good!" Matilda exited the small bathroom of her hospital room, holding her damp towel against her chest to keep her semi covered. She opened her closed eyes to see Xander holding up his camera and snapped a photo or two—Matilda wasn't sure on the exact amount of photos that were taken for she was too furious with Xander's rude behavior. "I was on a brink of death and this is how you appreciate me for surviving a horrible snake bite? Take photos of me almost naked and dripping wet? Such a great friend…"

Xander grinned, lowering the camera from his eye. "Oh come on, I just can't pass up a perfectly good shot of you, to be frank, you look _hot_!"

Matilda couldn't believe that she was friends with Xander, yet she couldn't complain. Xander took care of her when she was going through the hard times at home and even during the small things such as Daily Bugle calling Spider-Man a menace for the first time—she couldn't stop crying after she saw that front page. "Did you bring my clothes like I asked?" Matilda held out her right hand while the left kept her towel close to her chest.

"Sure did—even picked out the clean ones from your drawer, so be thankful," Xander spoke as he pulled out jean capris, a tight black tee, her white undergarments, socks, and her high top black converses from his backpack. Matilda motioned Xander to settle the clothes pile upon her hand. "And something special for the lady," Xander stopped Matilda when she was turning around back towards the bathroom. Xander pulled out a Yankees baseball with a large grin, eyes gleaming in excitement to see the prediction he made to unfold from Matilda's reaction.

"Yankees! No way!" Matilda squealed, taking a giant step forward to sweep the hat from Xander's hand to the top of the pile of clothes. "Thank you so much Xander! I would so hug you, but I'm not letting you get a free grab." Xander shrugged, not really wanting to touch his best-friend who's just like a little sister to him. "Let me get dressed and we're out of here, the stench of this place is killing me." Matilda turned back around and made her way into the bathroom.

It took Matilda at least ten minutes to get fully dressed, which allowed Xander to his thoughts for once. He was still a little shaken up from what happened the night before. He couldn't believe that this was all from a snake bite…a snake they didn't know and a poison unknown from the analysis. The weirdest thing was that when Xander entered the very back room there was a green glowing light…maybe that cylinder next Matilda was a light source of some kind. Then there was also no blood when Xander found Matilda and so far no visible bites upon her body…so what the hell happened?

"I'm ready to ditch this hell hole," Matilda came out, resting the Yankees hat upon her head.

Xander looked up from the ground and smiled, _'Who cares about what happened, Matilda survived and that's all that matters.'_ He stood up, picking up his backpack as he rose.

"Xander?" Matilda asked, as the two exited from the hospital room.

"Yeah?"

"What's this?"

"What?" Xander looked away from the direction they were heading down the hall and to Matilda, who was sticking her palm into his face. He stopped, grabbing Matilda's hand to stop her as well. "What? These marks?" He asked, poking his index finger upon her palm.

"Yeah?"

Xander examined closer, lifting a brow. There were two diamond like indentions upon the heel of palm that looked as if they were burned in. He shrugged his shoulders, unsure what to say to it; he could only say what came into his mind first. "Probably the snake bites…weird shape though."

"For a weird case, huh?" Matilda replied, tilting her head. "Maybe Mulder and Scully will—"

"No, I highly doubt it."

"I was just kidding around…" Matilda pouted, jerking her hand from Xander's grip.

"With you, it's never just a joke. In that brain of yours your probably detailing out the whole story, from beginning to end."

"Yeah? So what?" Matilda snorted, moving on her way towards the elevator once again. "Hurry it up before the Grim Reaper mistakes your soul for an old coot's," Matilda mused as she reached the elevator and pressed the down button. "And hopefully that'll happen," she sneered.

"Oh hush you, you should be thankful that I rode all the way with you to the hospital," Xander pointed out.

"And be thankful that God allowed me to stay here with you." Xander was beat; there was nothing to say to that. He couldn't push Matilda down just after she survived a near death experience. He merely smirked and nodded his head in agreement when she wasn't looking.

The two entered into the elevator and started their descent from the fifth floor. They stopped several times for doctors, nurses, patients, and family. It was quite annoying for the both of them, but they kept their mouths shut. At last, the elevator reached the lobby and about half of the elevator contents exited, including Xander and Matilda.

Xander and Matilda made their way to the front desk, Xander fishing for both of their wallets from his backpack, hoping that they would have enough money to pay for the bill. Matilda had an anxious look upon her face; she knew that Xander would be paying for most of it since she was fired from her last job for standing up for her woman rights at a diner—stupid move, but she wouldn't stand being pushed around.

Xander took out both their wallets and stepped up to the desk. "Matilda Nowak," Xander spoke up, nervously biting his lip to see the bill. Her near death experience was probably very expensive…he just hoped that Bruce's cargo ship would be able to pay for it since it's loaded with valuable items that need transporting to museums.

"Matilda Nowak…" the nurse repeated, fishing through her files. "Nowak…Nowak…ah, here it is." She tugged it out from the pile of files and opened it. "It's already been paid for."

Matilda and Xander both blinked in surprise, wondering how it got paid. Xander scratched his head pondering if he had paid it last night when he was half-awake. "B-By who?" Matilda finally asked.

"By…" the nurse shifted her eyes to the bottom of the file, "a Mr. Bruce Wayne."

The name forced their mouths to drop open. "Why—how—when—what?" Xander stuttered, eyes searching for the words upon the front desk before him.

"Just now," Bruce's voice shook the awe right from their bodies. They quickly turned around to find the business man standing alone this time. "I felt so terrible that this incident occurred upon my ship, I just had to pay for your bill."

Matilda's cheeks went red, hell, even the tips of her ears too. "That's so kind of you," Matilda's voice squeaked in fluster. She stepped up to Bruce with an urge to hug the handsome man, yet she held her urge back to keep from embarrassing herself. "Thank you."

Bruce held up a hand to deny the gratitude, "Please, it was my pleasure."

Xander stepped up next to Matilda, his hand out forward searching for a shake. "No, this is really kind of you, thank you. Just for this, I'll give you a discount on your rent."

Bruce smirked, placing his hand into Xander's for a warm shake. "Thank you, but really, I wouldn't be satisfied if I didn't." With that said Bruce pulled his hand away and exited the hospital.

Matilda squealed, hugging Xander's arm that hung from his body. "Bruce Wayne paid for my bill, it's like we're married!!"

Xander chuckled, "If you marry that guy you'll make him broke for repaying me for everything."

"Don't even joke about that," Matilda grumbled, gently pinching Xander's arm. "That would be horrible." Xander broke out in a cheery laughter, using his free hand to pat Matilda's head. "Hey, you still owe me a pizza, Dr. Pepper, and a British Comedy—I haven't eaten at all yesterday and it's almost noon now, I'm starving!"

"All right, all right. We'll head over to _John's Pizza_ and pick up a large, probably get some Italian Ice for dessert, as a celebration for your survival."

Matilda kept hold on to Xander's arm as the two young adults exited the hospital with a large smile plastered upon their face. God was on their side, and they were both glad to know that.


End file.
